No Witchcraft for Sale

The colors yellow and blue are recurring motifs throughout the story, particularly in the form of Teddy’s hair and eyes. His blond hair and blue eyes are praised and admired as signs of his special status. Indeed, Gideon says to Mrs. Farquar, “The Lord above sent this one; Little Yellow Head is the most good thing we have in our house” (67). His blond hair and blue eyes are a symbol of white supremacy, Teddy’s special status in his household, and his future role as the master of a household. Gideon uses this nickname even as Teddy grows older, indicating the deeply entrenched nature of white supremacy. His hair and eyes contrast with Gideon’s son’s, and as a child, Teddy reaches out “curiously to touch the black child’s cheeks and hair” (67), highlighting their differences.

Toward the end of the story, after he has led them six miles away from the house, Gideon picks a handful of blue flowers and shoves them into the scientist’s arms. They all know that these flowers are not the plant he used to cure Teddy, but Gideon refuses to share his knowledge. Here, Gideon takes a color associated with white supremacy and throws it back in the colonizers’ faces, symbolizing his desire to keep some of his own power and not give all of himself to his masters.